The Power of Words: Sarpi’s Use of Language in Making History
In the late sixteenth century, when the so-called baroque style spread across Europe, Paolo Sarpi eschewed the contemporary tendency and embraced an innovative narrative using parsimonious prose which, though it appears simple and plain, was a product of a careful selection of words with precise mea...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | Catalan |
| Published: |
Liverpool University Press
2016-02-01
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| Series: | Modern Languages Open |
| Online Access: | http://www.modernlanguagesopen.org/index.php/mlo/article/view/122 |
| _version_ | 1819068444545384448 |
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| author | Nicla Riverso |
| author_facet | Nicla Riverso |
| author_sort | Nicla Riverso |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In the late sixteenth century, when the so-called baroque style spread across Europe, Paolo Sarpi eschewed the contemporary tendency and embraced an innovative narrative using parsimonious prose which, though it appears simple and plain, was a product of a careful selection of words with precise meanings. In my article, I demostrate how Sarpi inaugurated a new way of writing history, avoiding eccentric redundancy and excessive emphasis and originating a style in which thought and form corrisponded completely. My inquiry shows how Sarpi's writing ability became an important weapon in his condamnation of the supremacy of the Church of Rome and how his prose, shorn of adornment, repetition and superficial elements, laid the foundations of modern historiography. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-21T16:34:15Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-59be978e95f3425cac43c5dca801b4ca |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2052-5397 |
| language | Catalan |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-21T16:34:15Z |
| publishDate | 2016-02-01 |
| publisher | Liverpool University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Modern Languages Open |
| spelling | doaj.art-59be978e95f3425cac43c5dca801b4ca2022-12-21T18:57:16ZcatLiverpool University PressModern Languages Open2052-53972016-02-010010.3828/mlo.v0i0.12250The Power of Words: Sarpi’s Use of Language in Making HistoryNicla Riverso0University of WashingtonIn the late sixteenth century, when the so-called baroque style spread across Europe, Paolo Sarpi eschewed the contemporary tendency and embraced an innovative narrative using parsimonious prose which, though it appears simple and plain, was a product of a careful selection of words with precise meanings. In my article, I demostrate how Sarpi inaugurated a new way of writing history, avoiding eccentric redundancy and excessive emphasis and originating a style in which thought and form corrisponded completely. My inquiry shows how Sarpi's writing ability became an important weapon in his condamnation of the supremacy of the Church of Rome and how his prose, shorn of adornment, repetition and superficial elements, laid the foundations of modern historiography.http://www.modernlanguagesopen.org/index.php/mlo/article/view/122 |
| spellingShingle | Nicla Riverso The Power of Words: Sarpi’s Use of Language in Making History Modern Languages Open |
| title | The Power of Words: Sarpi’s Use of Language in Making History |
| title_full | The Power of Words: Sarpi’s Use of Language in Making History |
| title_fullStr | The Power of Words: Sarpi’s Use of Language in Making History |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Power of Words: Sarpi’s Use of Language in Making History |
| title_short | The Power of Words: Sarpi’s Use of Language in Making History |
| title_sort | power of words sarpi s use of language in making history |
| url | http://www.modernlanguagesopen.org/index.php/mlo/article/view/122 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT niclariverso thepowerofwordssarpisuseoflanguageinmakinghistory AT niclariverso powerofwordssarpisuseoflanguageinmakinghistory |